Westfield Wanderings 2009

Off the Beaten Path

Yesterday my sister and I headed out on the streets of her adopted town of Westfield to see what we could see. This is ol' Saint Mary's.

I was sorry to see that this art store has gone out business. They always had cool paintings by local artists in the window. 

For a long time I used to wonder about this "Devine Interiors" sign. The building it is painted on has no such store within. 

Back in the summer of 2005 I posted on this website an inquiry as to whether anyone knew anything about it. I soon received the following email:

From : patrick johnson yazgoesbacklookingupitsgone@yahoo.com
Sent : Saturday, August 6, 2005 4:06 PM
To : baystateob@hotmail.com
Subject : oooh oooh, I know the answer!

Mr. Devine you wrote:

"In Westfield I have long noticed this odd sign painted on the wall of a building, advertising a furniture store and "Devine Interiors." The furniture store is no longer in the building bearing the sign. Do any history buffs know anything about this? Did the painter really mean to say "Divine Interiors" or is that a reference to a brand? I'd appreciate any info to solve this mystery."

The Devine Interiors is correct. It refers to the former owner of Lambson's, back when it was a furniture store and not a pool hall, named Rita Devine of Westfield, who died a few years back.

She was my mother's cousin, and a real tough old broad -- and I mean that most complimentary. No cream, no sugar, just black coffee. My mother worked at the store as a book keeper for 20 or so years before she retired, but I always thought her principal job was to be Rita's diplomat/conscience.

Rita sold the business to some Southwick couple in the early/mid 80s, and they ran the joint into the ground, but it probably wasn't their fault.

Lambson's and Hearn's, two competing furniture stores existed for years right next to each other on Elm Street. But people stopped going downtown, and going to places like Bob's Discount Furniture instead. Now Lambson's is a pool hall and Hearn's is some social service agency.

The Lambson building itself was really cool. It had a water-powered elevator, the only one that I ever heard of. You'd step in, shut the door and pull down a rope. You'd hear what sounded like a toilet flushing but in a second or two, the elevator box would rise up. To go down, you'd lift the rope and you'd hear the water drain out.

P. Johnson, Easthampton

So there ya go, ask on the internet and ye shall receive! I suspect those Devine's are my relatives, at least I remember hearing my Uncle Gervais speak disparagingly about "Westfield Devines" that he refused to have anything to do with. They probably declined to buy him a drink or lend him money. When I was in rehab a few years back I met one of the Westfield Devines and he was a fine gentleman who has stayed sober to this day. 

Apparently some people have been known to try to drive this store-cat crazy.

We stopped in at the bank and saw my cousin Margaret, who works there.

This is a famous abandoned railroad trestle in Westfield.

I noticed that there was a rugged path on the side of the trestle that you could use to climb to the top of it. A little steep, but no barrier to those of us who like to explore the places others dare not go.

Why people do not go there quickly became apparent when we saw the dangerous state of the old railroad tracks.

The trestle itself is in an even greater state of decay, with open holes where the wood has completely rotted out. One wrong step, and you will fall to a probable injury or even death on the traffic filled street below. 

Oh well, nothing to do but to return to the safety of the sidewalk below. However, our expedition was not a complete loss, as I captured this rare image of how downtown Westfield appears from the vantage point of that ruined trestle. 

Good Fun 

Jorma Kaukonen wrote the following entry in his diary after his Northampton show with Hot Tuna last week:

Saturday, November 28, 2009 Northampton, Massachusetts
The gig at the Calvin Theater was chilly in the beginning... I mean really chilly... but everything warmed up when we started to play. Here is our set list:

Set One:
1. Search My Heart
2. There’s A Bright Side Somewhere
3. I’ll Let You Know Before I Leave
4. More Than My Old Guitar
5. I See The Light
6. Come Back Baby
7. River Of Time
8. Breadline Blues
9. Hesitation Blues
10. 99 Year Blues
11. I Know You Rider

Set Two:

1. Trouble In Mind
2. Things That Might Have Been
3. Cracks In The Finish
4. Full Go Round
5. How Long Blues
6. Serpent Of Dreams
7. The Terrible Operation
8. Sea Child
9. Good Shepherd
10. 3rd Week In The Chelsea
11. Just Because
12. Encore: Embryonic Journey

It's been a long day so I'm heading back to the hotel and hitting the sack. Good fun tonight though.

 

Today's Video

 

Hot Fuckin Tuna

Assorted Valley Tuna Shit

 



Back around 1968, if you were to have asked serious rock fans who the best three guitar players were, you would probably hear most suggest Jimi Hendrix (many would still say that today) Eric Clapton (a bigger star today than he was then) and probably a third name far less well known today, Jorma Kaukonen of the Jefferson Airplane.

In their heyday Jefferson Airplane was dominated by its three prolific singer songwriters, Grace Slick, Marty Balin and Paul Kantner, who mostly overshadowed the extraordinarily creative and complex lead guitar playing of Kaukonen and the band's bass player Jack Casady. But if you listen to the Airplane today, the 60's "Up Against the Wall" credo of the Slick/Balin/Kantner axis often sounds dated, while Kaukonen and Cassady's wonderful guitar playing has passed the test of time beautifully. Kaukonen and Casady quit the Airplane when the band began to morph into the commercial hit-machine Starship, voluntarily exiling themselves to their side project Hot Tuna, whom Rolling Stone magazine once called "America's longest lived cult band."

Hot Tuna never had any hit records and never wanted any. Kaukonen rejected the record industry's star-making machinery, touring and recording only when he felt like it and strictly on his own terms. So while tragedy transformed Hendrix into a permanent icon, forever frozen at his peak by death; and Clapton aggressively pursued and obtained mainstream megastardom, Kaukonen remained more on the fringes of the music industry. 

Yet, Hot Tuna won through constant touring a hard-earned reputation as one of the ultimate guitar bands, despite never being widely recognized by the general public. Kaukonen always had a following here in the Valley however, performing at places like the Iron Horse and the old Quonset Hut on Rte. 9. Hot Tuna played in Springfield several times, most memorably at the Civic Center with Bob Weir and at the Paramount with the Band and Springfield native Taj Mahal.

But no one as good as Jorma Kaukonen could remain underground forever, and in fact a Jorma revival is now underway, led by a new generation delighted to rediscover what an older generation forgot. Now all of Jorma's old solo albums, most of which have never been available on CD, are finally being re-released in order to blow the minds of modern listeners.

The latest re-release is 1974's QUAH, which was Jorma's first solo effort following the crash of the Jefferson Airplane. It is one the few records Jorma made without Jack Casady, featuring instead the late San Francisco folk legend Tom Hobson. It also includes wonderfully erzatz album cover art by Jorma's late wife, psychedelic poster artist Margareta.

The oddness of the album cover art matches the eclectic music of the record itself. The opening song "Genesis" is as fine an acoustic love ballad you could want and it's worth buying the CD for that song alone.

But there is so, so much more. The rest of the record is an amazing blend of styles and sounds ranging from the primal blues of Rev. Gary Davis covers to stoner songs like "Flying Clouds" and "Hamar Promenade," to the outright daffy guitar showpiece "Sweet Hawaiian Sunshine." There are also previously unreleased songs from the original recording sessions, including an instrumental that later appeared with lyrics on Hot Tuna's The Phosphorescent Rat and a deeply weird but profound cowboy tune called "Barrier." There is even an unintentionally corny hidden track that I'll let you discover for yourself.

No date for the following photos of Hot Tuna, but I do know that they were taken at the Music Inn in Lenox in the mid-70's. I kid you not, but the show was so loud that the surrounding farmers complained in the paper that the next day their cows wouldn't give milk. Guess cows don't like Hot Tuna. I admit it was a show that probably damaged my hearing, but if so it was worth it. I don't think I've ever had as much fun at a concert since.

 

 


Here's an old review of a concert I went to in the year 2000 where Hot Tuna was the back-up band for the Allman Brothers.



Damn, I was hoping to produce for you a big ol’ concert review, but frankly I’m not much prepared to write it. The truth is I really didn’t act much like a music reviewer at this concert. I talked to people, walked around and at times just plain ignored what was happening on stage. Therefore the best I can do is offer you these handful of observations, and I hope you can get something out of that.

I’m no expert on these things, but security in the parking lot seemed tighter than it needed to be.

I thought there might be a lot of drunken yahoos running around, but the vibe was more Grateful Dead than Molly Hatchet.

Shame on the people who lingered outside and missed Hot Tuna.

Hot Tuna’s Mike Falzarano is a good vocalist, but personally I prefer that all songs be sung by Jorma.

The Meadows is a great place to see shows, even if you have lawn seats. God bless the giant overhead TV screen. Sound quality was also excellent.

Unfortunately, the person running the TV seemed not to know what to show in relation to what was happening on stage. Sometimes the camera was on drummers during a guitar solo or similar mismatch of image and sound.

Hate to say it, but the absence of Dicky Betts was not as profoundly felt as you might have expected.

When did the Allman Brothers get so psychedelic? That was not their original image. A band for bikers maybe, or for good ol’ boys for sure, but flower power acid heads? No, that's something new.

"Whipping Post" was an obvious and perfect encore.

Therefore, let me close by simply saying that a good time appeared to be had by all.

Below is a ticket stub from a very, very loud show in Springfield, Massachusetts. I actually feared afterwards that I had damaged my hearing, but it returned to normal the next day.

Did you know there is a plant called Hot Tuna?

Houttuynia is a plant that tastes nothing like hot tuna; the botanical name merely resembles the words "hot tuna." It's a lot easier to remember and say than houttuynia.

Although hot tuna doesn't taste like hot tuna, it is, in fact, edible. The plant is native from Japan down to Java, and across Asia to Nepal, and people in those regions eat the boiled leaves or use them as flavoring. Some people find the flavor to be citrus-y; to others, it is more reminiscent of cheap perfume laced with diesel fuel.

Some cautions must be exercised in planting hot tuna. The plant can be invasive. It spreads vigorously by underground suckers, and although growing only about a half a foot high, it can climb over and engulf a dwarf shrub. Also, hot tuna's wild colors would not be welcome everywhere -- it's not a visually sedate plant.

With these two cautions in mind, you might want to give hot tuna a try, mostly for its looks and maybe even to eat. 

 Here's a taste of the musical Hot Tuna.

This is the mugshot of a woman arrested this week in Springfield for drug dealing.

Signs

Somebody got obscene with this crosswalk sign in Northampton.

MassBike had a table set up this morning at the Hamp Farmer's Market.

I'm stunned by the closing of the Aurora Borealis store in downtown Hamp.

Thus the Obama Depression claims another victim. Rolando's in downtown Amherst has been closed for some time. 

But I notice that inside it still has this poster hanging up of what I assume is an imaginary farm for intoxicated bovines. 

 

Of course still open is the nearby Pub, which boasts of being open since 1968.

Despite its 60's pedigree, The Pub has always had the reputation of being a rowdy fratboy bar. Here signs of peace in several languages hang beneath the gay pride flag at Amherst's Unitarian Church.

At Amherst's Newbury Comix a poster advertizes the new Dinosaur Jr. CD in the band's hometown.

Haymarket Scenes

A Cape Cod Grateful Dead shirt in Northampton's Haymarket Cafe yesterday.

Michael on the Haymarket tip jar.

True love.

This Bud's Not For You

 


 

I'm surprised to see that City Councilor Bud Williams (above) has made good on his threat to announce for mayor of Springfield. I'm surprised because I thought Williams had too much old baggage to mount a credible campaign, plus he's indicated a willingness to run in the past and nothing ever came of it.

Things are a little different this time. For one thing, there is ward representation for the first time since the 1950's, and the ward Bud is in already has a crowded field featuring early front-runner Claudio Concepcion. Bud would be strongest running citywide as he always has under the old system, but if that's the case then he might as well run for mayor as for an at-large Council seat. Actually that is an example of the first major weakness to surface regarding the new ward system, there is little incentive to run for the at-large seats, which come with no more power or pay than the ward seats but require much more expensive citywide campaigns to win.

I've always liked Bud on a personal level. He has never been as much of a fake as most others in Springfield politics. I remember back in the 90's when I first started hanging around the Springfield political scene Williams always made a point of saying hello to me whenever he saw me, despite the fact I didn't always say nice things about him in my zine. That was in contrast to many other pols who used to pretend they didn't know who I was, only to have Dan Yorke inform me that they had come up to him and asked questions about me. In a political scene dominated by plastic phonies and charming crooks, Williams has a certain refreshing down to earthness about him.

Yet despite the statement in William's announcement that "I've not played politics at all" the fact is Williams has always been a loyal foot soldier for the local political machine. It is hard to think of a single time he has challenged the status-quo on an issue that mattered, and like so many others, his reputation is tarnished by his close association with disgraced former Mayor Michael Albano. Can't Springfield find leaders anywhere except among the motley crew who stood by, as Williams did, defending the political establishment as the city swirled down the drain?

Fortunately Williams is not the only candidate on the field. Others may come forward, and incumbent Mayor Dom Sarno is expected to seek re-election. Nor is Williams the first to announce, that would be newcomer David Parkhurst, who is running an outsider campaign that is starting to look like a real breath of fresh air.

It might be that Bud Williams is not the worst person that could run for mayor, but Springfield could, and should, do better.

 

Tea Partying

I regret that I couldn't attend one of the "tea party" demonstrations today in protest of the soaring level of government intrusion into our lives. Here are pictures of some other famous tea parties.

The Original Boston Tea Party  

Alice's Tea Party

I'm delighted to see that the number and size of the protests were above and beyond anyone's expectations.  

 

Hamp Signs

In Northampton I saw this expression of anti-government sentiment this morning on a downtown mailbox, complete with a sledgehammer striking the statehouse - or is it the White House?

I was surprised to see this sign stuck to a tree in downtown Northampton. It says "Jesus is the King not the Latin Kings."

I hope that doesn't mean the Latin King gang is surfacing in Hamp. They've already done enough damage in Springfield.

 

UMass Today

A feminist group set up these red cutouts around campus today with stories attached to them about domestic violence. 

I hate domestic violence, but I'm not sure how much such displays are educational or just annoying.

These ladies were in the campus center today with a spotted cow wearing a UMass hat promoting this weekend's livestock show.

It is being held Saturday all day with free parking and free admission at the UMass Hadley Farm. If you're into farm stuff check it out.

Today was also the start of the annual Humans versus Zombies War. This well-armed humanity soldier was patrolling the campus center to protect the students from zombie attacks.



Today's Video



Jefferson Airplane was full of such talented people that not everyone noticed that Jorma Kaukonen and Jack Cassady were two of the greatest guitar players on the planet. When they went solo with their band Hot Tuna, they never gave a damn about commercial success and so got overlooked again. Hey, if you don't know Jorma you don't know Jack! Now they seem to be being rediscovered, with Jorma winning a Grammy award and Jack being praised as one of the greatest bass players of all time!

But a Hot Tuna karoake video?

It takes a long time to be free. 

UMass Car Models

And a Little Hot Tuna.

This morning I came upon these shutterbugs hovering around a leggy brunette as part of the annual Camera Club Convention at UMass.

More interesting to me were these antique cars. I like this cherry red one parked out by the campus pond. 

This black one had a see-through engine.

Except for the engine, the car closely resembles the one on the cover of Hot Tuna's Burgers.

Speaking of Jorma and Jack, here's a taste of Hot Tuna as served last month at Bonneroo. Sorry for the heartbreakingly premature ending.